NEEDED: More Marrow Donors
October 9, 2009Shaka M. Comments OffWelcome to MoreMarrowDonors.org! Did you know that every day 3 Americans will lose their battle with disease because they can’t find a suitable match for a life-saving bone marrow transplant? We think it’s time to change that.
Bone marrow transplants can be instrumental in fighting diseases such as leukemia but there are simply not enough people on the National Bone Marrow Registry.
Donors and patients are matched according to tissue type, specifically their human leukocyte antigens. HLAs are proteins the immune system uses to recognize which cells are yours and which are foreign. The closer the HLA match, the better the chances of a successful transplant. So while there may be several million donors in various databases around the world, it can be extremely difficult to find a viable match for a specific person.
Most donations involve a simple peripheral blood stem cell draw (similar to a transfusion), which is an outpatient, non-surgical procedure. If actual marrow is needed, less than 5% is harvested and the body replaces it in 4-6 weeks – unlike donating a kidney or lung.
Check out our innovative approach to combating this problem and sign up to be a member.
Tags: Compensation, marrow, transplant